Most Prestigious Online MBA Programs With No GMAT Requirement

Question:

I’d like to earn an online MBA, but most seem to require the GMAT. I’m VP of marketing in the real world, but my GMAT scores stink. I'm hoping you can suggest online MBA programs, no GMAT required. Nothing I’ve done, including an expensive test prep program, has raised my scores. Can you suggest any online MBA programs that do not require the GMAT or that other pesky exam, the GRE?—JackTiconderoga, NY

Answer:

Low scores on the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Exam) hurt a lot of older business school applicants. Fortunately, a legion of reputable distance business schools offer the online MBA with NO GMAT required for admission these days.

In fact, the Get Educated National Online MBA Ranking Survey uncovered 136 accredited online MBA programs that require NO GMAT or GRE exam. (See links to these lists at the end of this article)

One surprising fact: 14 of the 64 top accredited online MBA degrees that GetEducated.com reviews do not require the GMAT or the GRE. (These MBAs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, AACSB.)

Colorado State University Online MBA - GMAT Optional

Because online business schools cater to older adults, many are abandoning the GMAT and related standardized admission exams as measures of academic preparedness.

Career experience is increasingly seen as a better indicator of success in the business world than old-school academic measures, such as the GMAT.

Colorado State University’s distance MBA—also 100 percent online and AACSB-accredited —requires the GMAT, but CSU will accept petitions for GMAT waiver from applicants with at least a 3.0 undergraduate GPA on the last half of their bachelor’s degree. To petition for a waiver you must be able to document at least eight years of professional career experience.

Many online MBA programs are designed for and recruit from older working students who will study part-time while they work at building their careers. Check the admission requirements at individual programs to see if a certain number of years of professional management experience will make you eligible for a GRE / GMAT waiver.

Specialty Online MBAs

Some graduate business schools offer specialized MBAs aimed at highly educated professionals. For example, Auburn University in Alabama offers a Physician’s MBA through distance learning. This MBA, which is open only to doctors, doesn’t require any formal admission exam.

Nationally Accredited Online MBA with NO GRE or GMAT

For complete barrier-free admission, try any of the MBAs accredited by national agencies, like the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), which accredits distance-only universities, or the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS), which accredits career colleges.

According to GetEducated.com’s National Survey of Online MBAs, none of 14 DETC-accredited distance MBAs require the GRE or GMAT for admission.

Check the ADMISSIONS section of each school’s profile. Even when the GRE or GMAT are required, some online MBA programs require competitive (high) scores, while others accept applicants whose scores fall within the average range.